PILES OF SM
SIX NATIONS TABLE
DLFAJOE SCHMIDT’S Monday team reviews can be tough going but the room cracked up as this week’s session began at Carton House.
Schmidt will have had plenty to say about how his players had failed to convert 70% possession in Paris into a comfortable lead before Teddy Thomas’ converted try almost handed France victory in the Six Nations opener. But the wily Kiwi did not let the opportunity pass to highlight the celebration that followed Johnny Sexton’s dramatic drop goal winner.
Sexton whirled away in delight and, after Bundee Aki jumped into his arms, the out-half was engulfed by the rest of his team-mates in Ireland’s 22. For traditionalists it might have been a bit over the top but it just underlined how important that kick was to this team.
“We had a little bit of a joke about it,” grinned Tadhg Furlong.
“There was a montage comparing it to some soccer goals which was good to lighten the mood at the start of a team meeting.”
Joking aside, Furlong believes what occurred in those final minutes at the Stade de France – the 41 phases as the clock crept into the red and the knowledge that one mistake would be fatal to Ireland’s hopes – deserved to be celebrated.
“Yeah, absolutely,” he said. “When you have such a big moment like that after being under the pump, they scored a try, we had to claw our way back and find a way to win.
“And I suppose the manner that we did it – the manner of the drop goal and the last kick of the game – there was such a build-up. As a collective obviously it brings you a massive amount of satisfaction.
“It’s a, ‘You scored a goal in extra time to clinch the win’, sort of job – especially in a Six Nations match as well when it means so much. There